General Electric to cut 12,000 jobs in power division

General Electric plans to cut 12,000 jobs in its power division as the industrial conglomerate's new CEO institutes sweeping changes and the company grapples with a decline in business for coal and natural gas products.

The company will cut nearly one in five positions in its GE Power unit. It was not immediately clear where and when the reductions would occur, though the company said they would include "professional and production employees."

The move comes as CEO John Flannery, who took over for Jeffrey Immelt in August, is aiming to make GE more efficient. He has already earned a reputation for taking a microscope to GE's global business to identify opportunities for savings and changes.

The move comes as CEO John Flannery, who took over for Jeffrey Immelt in August, is aiming to make GE more efficient. "We have a challenge in our Power business, and that is something we have to resolve," Flannery said, acknowledging "we did a poor job running that business."

GE said the cuts would contribute to its plans to slash $3.5 billion in "structural costs" in 2017 and 2018.

Get Plant Services delivered to your inbox Monday through Friday!
Sign up for Plant Services' complimentary Smart Minute e-newsletter
to get maintenance and reliability know-how you can put to use today,
plus the latest manufacturing news from around the Web, special reports,
and more. Learn more and subscribe for free today.